Deck 9: Legislatures and Legislative Elections

Question 1

An assembly or body of representatives with the authority to make laws refers to:

A) The legislature
B) The judiciary
C) The electorate
D) The executive

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is untrue of legislatures?

A) Many politicians start their careers in the legislature.
B) Legislatures are responsible for enforcing laws.
C) Interests groups and lobbyists work with the legislature to influence policy.
D) Legislatures often have the responsibility of executive oversight.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following countries is an example of an authoritarian state with a legislature?

A) South Africa
B) Brazil
C) China
D) Denmark

Answer 3

C

Question 4

All contemporary democracies have:

A) Elected legislators
B) An executive head of government appointed by the legislature
C) A bicameral congress
D) Three branches of government, including a legislature elected separately from the executive

Question 5

To what does the term "horse trading" refer to in regards to legislation?

A) The redistricting that occurs in order to provide better electoral opportunities for a candidate
B) The act of blocking proposed legislation in the Senate
C) The law of interstate commerce that prohibits the smuggling of farm animals across state borders
D) The trades and compromises that take place between legislators to garner votes

Question 6

The power of the legislature to allocate resources is called:

A) The "pursers clause"
B) The "peddling of the purse strings"
C) The "clutch of power"
D) The "power of the purse"

Question 7

Which of the following is not an expectation of an elected legislator?

A) Committee participation
B) Bipartisanship
C) Lawmaking
D) Constituent service

Question 8

A legislature with two chambers or houses is called which of the following?

A) Unicameral
B) Duocameral
C) Bicameral
D) Multicameral

Question 9

Which aspect of the government is generally the most reflective of the political distribution of the population at large?

A) The lower house or chamber of the legislature
B) The upper house or chamber of the legislature
C) The elected executive
D) The judiciary

Question 10

The United States House of Representatives is an example of:

A) A lower chamber
B) An upper chamber
C) A unicameral legislature
D) A parliament

Question 11

Which of the following is not an example of an upper chamber?

A) The United States Senate
B) The German Bundesrat
C) The United Kingdom's House of Commons
D) The Japanese House of Councillors

Question 12

Which of the following are most common in countries that have relatively homogeneous populations?

A) Upper chambers
B) Congresses
C) Unicameral legislatures
D) Bicameral legislatures

Question 13

Unicameral legislatures are most uncommon in which of the following regions?

A) Scandinavia
B) Latin America
C) Sub-Saharan Africa
D) The Middle East

Question 14

Congresses are typically associated with which of the following types of executives?

A) Monarchies
B) Prime Ministers
C) Theocrats
D) Presidents

Question 15

A type of legislature that is often associated with systems in which the legislators vote on the leadership of the executive branch and the formation of a government is called:

A) Monarchy
B) Parliament
C) Congress
D) Representative

Question 16

A geographical or territorial constituency is generally associated with what system?

A) Proportional representation system
B) Legislative-dominant system
C) Alternative vote system
D) District system

Question 17

Which parliament is generally considered the "mother of parliaments"?

A) U.S. Congress
B) British Parliament
C) European Union parliament
D) Russian Duma, also known as the Parliament of "Mother Russia"

Question 18

First-past-the-post winners receive:

A) A majority of the votes
B) A plurality of the votes
C) A minority of the votes
D) A multiplicity of the votes

Question 19

Which of the following electoral systems requires a majority?

A) Runoff vote
B) First-past-the-post
C) Proportional representation
D) Alternative vote

Question 20

In a pure proportional representation system, a party gaining 25 percent of the vote would expect to receive how many of 100 available seats?

A) No seats
B) 2 seats
C) 25 seats
D) 50 seats

Question 21

Which country uses proportional representation?

A) Russia
B) United States
C) India
D) China

Question 22

Which of the following voter procedures applies to the Single Transferable Vote system?

A) Choose preferred party; seats allocated to parties by vote percent
B) Choose candidate; top candidate is elected by most votes or runoff
C) Rank candidates; winners' surplus votes reallocated until a slate is chosen
D) Rank candidates; votes of losers are reallocated until a winner is found

Question 23

Which of the following voter procedures applies to the Single-Member District system?

A) Choose preferred party; seats allocated to parties by vote percent
B) Choose candidate; top candidate is elected by most votes or runoff
C) Rank candidates; winners' surplus votes reallocated until slate chosen
D) Rank candidates: votes of loser reallocated until winner found

Question 24

The Single Transferable Vote system is effective in:

A) Reducing the cases of voter fraud
B) Reducing the temptation of strategic voting
C) Reducing voter fatigue
D) Reducing the level of voter apathy in the youth

Question 25

How is the German Bundesrat elected?

A) Single-Member district
B) Alternative voting
C) Open-list proportional representation
D) By assemblies in the states (Lander)

Question 26

Which of the following is a power that a legislature may have over the executive?

A) Oversight
B) Removal
C) Requiring testimony
D) All of the above

Question 27

Scott Morgenstern and Benito Nacif observed that legislatures are more "reactive" than "proactive" in which region?

A) Scandinavia
B) Latin America
C) Sub-Saharan Africa
D) The Middle East

Question 28

The process of impeachment is found in what type of system?

A) Presidential
B) Parliament
C) Monarchical
D) Authoritarian

Question 29

The creation of districts of irregular shape or composition in order to achieve a desired political result is known as:

A) Gerrymandering
B) Meandering
C) Philandering
D) Mungojerrying

Question 30

In the United States Senate, how many Senators are needed to sustain a filibuster?

A) 25
B) 41
C) 51
D) 60

Question 31

Gary Cox and Matthew McCubbins argue that:

A) Committees are effectively "legislatures within legislatures" where the important decisions are made.
B) The U.S. House conducts business in ways that may be considered a "legislative cartel."
C) Parties are considered "disciplined" if their members vote together.
D) Malapportionment leads to a deviation from the "one-person, one-vote" principle.

Question 32

Questions designed to get at what likely might happen under certain circumstances is called:

A) hypotheticals
B) counterfactuals
C) hinderances
D) analyticals

Question 33

What is typically the difference between a legislature called a "parliament" and one called a "congress"?

Question 34

In a pure proportional representation system, what does an individual citizen vote for, and how are legislative seats allocated?

Question 35

Describe how an electoral system might work in which voters rank candidates.

Question 36

How does open-list PR differ from closed-list PR?

Question 37

Offer one main advantage of proportional representation (as opposed to district-based elections) from the perspective of the quality or nature of representation.

Question 38

Now offer one main disadvantage of proportional representation from the perspective of the quality or nature of representation.

Question 39

Describe the electoral system used in New Zealand.

Question 40

What is malapportionment and whom does it typically favor in federal systems?

Question 41

What are the general implications of single-member districts?

Question 42

What are the conditions that favor the development of two parties?

Question 43

What are the conditions that favor the development of many parties?

Question 44

In general, electoral systems and party systems are related. Which shapes the other more and why?

Question 45

What are the main causes of climate change and how can they be addressed?

Question 46

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of proportional representation and district-based systems, when viewed in terms of representation?

Question 47

Explain how legislative-executive relations are likely to differ between parliamentary systems and presidential systems.

Question 48

Explain how party discipline relates to electoral rules, using at least two different types of electoral systems to show what variations in discipline might be expected.

Question 49

How does malapportionment affect representative outcomes and what might be changed in such a system to equalize representation? Use a hypothetical to demonstrate the proposed change.